I just sent this list to a newbie, and thought I'd post it here. I'm sure many of you have good rules, too.

My rules to play WIS by:

1. The game (and life) are streaky. Learn to live with this.
2. The game simulation uses statistical baselines. No matter who is hot or who is not, the best player to use is always the one with the best stats.
3. The best stats are OBP# and OPS# for hitters; and ERC# and WHIP# for pitchers.
4. Home runs (hitting them and allowing them) make a difference.
5. Plan ahead. This is a progressive league; ask yourself what you need to do each season and in each draft to keep your team competitive or make it more so.
6. Remember there are always others who understand this game better than you do (or I do). Read the general baseball forum regularly to find what there is to learn there. (If a post is written by zubinsum or boogerlips, it is worth reading, even if you don't understand it.)
7. There are 27 outs on each side in nine innings. Avoid strategies that waste outs. (For example, a batter with a higher OBP# makes fewer outs; a pitcher with a lower WHIP# creates more outs.)
8. Fast players, if they are managed (in the team settings) so that they are not reckless, will score more runs, all other things being equal.
9. All other things are not equal.
10. Luck is the residue of design.

Good advice...thanks for sharing. There are many nuances to this game and it takes a while to understand how to be successful. As you said, I'm still learning myself.

LUCK IS THE RESIDUE OF DESIGN

I shall be stealing this quote. TY.

Posted by cpdpoet on 12/14/2012 5:18:00 PM (view original):
LUCK IS THE RESIDUE OF DESIGN

I shall be stealing this quote. TY.

I stole it from Branch Rickey, whom others claim stole it from John Milton.

Perhaps attribution is the residue of thievery ...

8. Fast players, if they are managed (in the team settings) so that they are not reckless, will score more runs, all other things being equal

How do you do that? I set my steal option in the advance settings to "1" and I have a player who has attempted to steal every time he gets on base! Against a catcher with an A arm! He's run me out of too many innings. How can I make him stop?

In my manager style, I have average base running and aggressive hit and run. Does that have something to do with it?

H&R is a minor factor. Even on aggressive, you'll likely run the play only three times in a game.

When I have a fast team, I set it for very aggressive base running and I set all individuals for 0 stealing, excepting only those whose successful steal percentage exceeds 77%.

I want a team that goes from 1st to 3rd as often as possible.

Steals are a loser unless you have the prospect of a high success rate.

Try setting your troubling player for 0 stealing.